Thoughts, musings and commentary on stories from the developing world

Having assumed what I wrote about yesterday to be a fairly rare occurrence, I have now discovered that this is far from the truth.

Only days after the two female aid workers kidnapped in Darfur were released, another French aid worker has been abducted, with his captors demanding a one million dollar ransom. Gauthier Lefevre was taken at gunpoint last week, marking the fifth kidnapping since the ICC (International Criminal Court) demanded an arrest warrant for President Bashir earlier this year, in an attempt to indict him for war crimes.

Abducting aid workers has become a new career for gun-wielding rebels, seeking a lucrative reward by demanding high ransoms. So far the Sudanese government has refused to pay the ransom, but even the mere suggestion that a ransom was paid to free the two women last week is acting as an incentive to encourage further kidnappings. The Sudanese government insists it is pursuing an alternative strategy to ensure the safety of the hostages, but a botched attempt to free workers in south Sudan last year resulted in the death of three out of nine hostages that were hoping to be rescued.

This only goes to show the bravery and dedication these aid workers are demonstrating, in a life or death situation – risking their own to save others.